


Static

by suhoneymod



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-10
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-07 14:32:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6809104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suhoneymod/pseuds/suhoneymod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyungsoo likes to write about worlds that don’t exist</p>
            </blockquote>





	Static

**Author's Note:**

> inspired mostly from koi to uso and **is a really short introduction to a bigger, future story** but can be read as a standalone
> 
> (Prompt #100)
> 
> written by [legozai](http://legozai.livejournal.com/)

Kyungsoo likes to write about worlds that don’t exist. That’s not to say that the world he currently lives in is bad; it’s one where he wishes he was born generations later. Flashes of a man with pale skin, rounded face, curved eyes and chestnut brown hair project in the back of his mind, slowly swirling into an image of a much shorter woman with an energetic vibe. But she isn’t smiling at him. The thought makes him sick to his stomach and he scratches a couple words in his notebook as a response.

It’s dark outside and the windows are wide open to allow whatever breeze currently blowing to breathe into the room. A fan whirs in the distance and he can hear the sound of the New York City nightlife blooming; car horns blare here and there (Kyungsoo swears that it’s almost like they’re complaining about the suffocating humidity in this godforsaken city) and the neon light from the building across from his is flickering. He can even catch the buzzing conversations of people walking the streets at night, imagining the exchanged words to be between a friend or perhaps even a lover.

The idea fills his mouth with a bitter taste and Kyungsoo immediately wants to douse it with vodka.

 _Silly_.

The lights dance off the metallic back of his iPhone and he pushes the plastic frame of his glasses up the bridge of his nose, closer to his tired eyes. They burn from the strain of running on three hours of sleep in efforts to meet a deadline. The editor wants to read his latest piece so they’re coming by tomorrow. Kyungsoo needs at least some type of transcript put together by then. _It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be **done**_ , he reminds himself as he throws his head back to take a sip of vodka, his shoulder scrunch while he tilts his head from side to side and the gratifying cracking sound resounds in his ears.

He writes about the world where the government doesn’t control everything, where people can make their own decisions, where he isn’t penalized for loving someone he wants to love, a world where he doesn’t live and Junmyeon Kim isn’t the man of his dreams.

His phone is on the side of the table, close to the edge. In the recesses of his mind, Kyungsoo can picture the black lettering emblazoned over the screen in a text message that he’d received some time ago in his third year of highschool. On it was the name of a girl as well as some background information regarding where she came from, her age and a set date as to when they would have their first meeting. He hadn’t looked forward to it.

Kyungsoo hadn’t looked forward to telling Junmyeon either.

****

The lights were dimmed over the restaurant floor while the clinking of glasses and chatter buzzed around Junmyeon’s surroundings. They were celebrating yet another sealed deal at their publishing company. Editors, publishers, and authors alike bowed their heads smiling at each corner. He took another sip of his drink and set it on the cream colored tablecloth.

“You okay? It looks like you’re…” The woman next to him started, searching for the right word. “Overwhelmed.” Her tone was filled with concern, but Junmyeon couldn’t decipher whether or not it was genuine. Afterall, it wasn’t her choice to be with him right now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as one of the editors, Seulgi, excused themselves for the bathroom. Her face was flushed pink, probably from all the alcohol despite the fact that this was a more professional gathering. The male could feel the weight of his companion’s gaze on the way the girl’s brown hair swished from side to side over her retreating back. 

“Irene.” He forced himself to look at her and noticed the quick way she tears her eyes away from the other girl only to look down at the clasped fingers in her lap. She looked almost guilty but Junmyeon doesn’t question her about it and exhales quietly.

“If you’ll excuse me- sorry” She dropped her napkin on the table and slid out of her seat, presumably to the restroom while Junmyeon found himself flagging down a waiter for another drink.

They, he and Irene, had been trying _so_ hard to make their relationship work. But it wasn’t easy when chemistry hadn’t existed between them to begin with. He knew that there was some science behind the government planning, that officials had been looking at their records since birth to determine the perfect match across their country. Unfortunately, the pretty ravenhead from Daegu wasn’t it. As much as he had tried to convince himself over the course of many years, she simply didn’t fit and he was certain that Irene had similar thoughts.

Although they could have refused the assignment but that also had its repercussions on their lives. It could bar them from future work or from receiving retirement benefits for their disobedience. Anyone of importance would have access to that knowledge and it could ruin their lives forever.

His cell phone notification went off (a quacking noise that Junmyeon hasn’t changed since his high school days) and the male’s eyes light up at the name of sender. He looked up again to find Irene and saw that both she and Seulgi were exiting the restroom. They’re both straightening themselves up and Junmyeon has to avert his gaze to pretend that he doesn’t know what transpired in a possibly dirty bathroom stall only moments earlier.

_meet me at that corner bakery we used to eat at_

Mouthing to his companion that he needs to go, _an emergency_ he says when Irene’s eyebrow quirks up in question, he finally gets up. Around the table, everyone is still sporting cheery grins and Junmyeon’s sure that nobody notices when he quietly slips away.

Half an hour later, he sits across a small smile and plastic lenses. They’re drinking coffee together and nibbling on bagels that are years overdue. Junmyeon asks about his career but Kyungsoo doesn’t let on. He never does.

But for some reason, this meeting gives Junmyeon hope for a better tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> on LJ [here](http://suhoneyfest.livejournal.com/6010.html)!


End file.
